The Emperor is an incapable ruler(2): The missing protagonist
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Zhao Ze saw the little emperor's frightened and tearful expression, and felt disdainful, thinking that this person was too uncivilised.
After understanding his current situation, Xiang Han stressed earnestly, “Y-you cannot find trouble for imperial brother. I-it was Zhen who got people to find those evidence, and the edict was also ordered by Zhen. You rebels, whatever it is, just come at Zhen...”
Zhao Ze's gaze darkened as he silently thought, could it be that the evidence was truly related to Prince Liang?
One was the prince who had been dethroned six years ago because of his father while the other was the Little Emperor who had just joined the court, without a care in the world. Who should he choose to believe, Zhao Ze already had an answer in his heart.
Although Prince Liang had saved him, he did not believe the other person's excuse of “not being able to bear seeing a loyal subordinate's death”, and instead, felt that he had ulterior motives.
In the original plot, Zhao Ze did not manage to meet the Little Emperor and his nine generations of family were executed. Therefore, even though he knew Prince Liang had his own motives, he still chose to walk down this path. But now, since the Zhao family still had a chance of recovery, he naturally chose a different option.
He remembered his father had criticised the Little Emperor for being weak and unsuitable to take on great responsibilities. In the end, Zhao Ze finally chose to put his stakes on this person. At least… the Little Emperor would not dare trick him and was much more trustworthy than Prince Liang.
Watching the Little Emperor stare at him with big, watery eyes filled with fear, he was silent for a moment before he suddenly spoke, “Your Majesty, do you want to know who the one who rescued me was?”
“Who?” Xiang Han immediately asked in alert.
“It was Prince Liang.” Zhao Ze stared at him, slowly spitting out each word.
“Impossible.” Xiang Han shook his head, “Imperial brother was just telling me to quickly get rid of your entire family yesterday. Why would he secretly help you?”
“Your Majesty has probably been fooled by him,” Zhao Ze's gaze darkened as he said. Seeing the Little Emperor's reaction was genuine, he continued, “When Prince Liang saved me, he said he could not ‘bear to watch a loyal subordinate be framed to death' and convinced me to head northwest…”
“Impossible. Don't try to stir discord between Zhen and Imperial brother's brotherly feelings. Your Zhao family is plotting treason, the evidence is conclusive. Don't tell me you want Zhen to doubt imperial brother and believe the words of a traitor instead?” Xiang Han shook his head in “resolution”, not believing his words.
Zhao Ze felt that the little emperor was indeed foolish. Living in the palace, he still believed in brotherly love. Even if he were to be sold by Prince Liang, he would probably still help the other person count his money.
He gloomily continued, “Your Majesty, Prince Liang has always held a grudge against my father regarding his abdication. His words cannot be trusted and the so-called evidence cannot be used. As long as Your Majesty sends your people to investigate, you will definitely be able to find that many things do not match up.”
When he said this, he directly knelt down and offered his dagger. He lowered his head and continued, “My father is already past 50, his body is no longer as strong as before. Before that, he was already planning to retire from court, why would he think of rebelling? This criminal is willing to offer his life to prove my loyalty. On the other hand, Prince Liang actually dared to plant false evidence in court. He deliberately lied and misled Your Majesty. When he reveals his ambitions, I'm afraid Your Majesty will be in danger.”
Xiang Han glanced at him and pretended to accept the dagger cautiously. When he completely grasped the dagger, his expression immediately changed, becoming full of confidence.
He wielded the dagger and happily slashed towards his neck twice before walking around him, “But your Zhao family is indeed controlling too much power. Even the commander of Chang' An army is Teacher Zhao's people, who should Zhen believe?”
Zhao Ze completely did not put this little act in his eyes, only feeling that the Little Emperor was simply throwing a tantrum. Once he obtained some power, he was like a little rooster, walking about with his head held high.
“If it is as what Your Majesty said, Commander Xue should already have killed his way into the palace, to take down Your Majesty and rescue father.”
“Preposterous!” Xiang Han immediately increased the pressure of the dagger against his neck and scoffed, “Zhen can implicate you purely based on your words just now.”
Zhao Ze admitted honestly, “This minister has offended your Majesty, but this official's father has been wrongly accused. Although there were many opportunities to rebel,t in the end, this official still chose to surrender with hopes that Your Majesty will not be swayed by false rumours and execute a loyal courtier.”
Xiang Han squatted down in front of him, held his sleeves and observed him for a moment before he finally said, “Forget it. Since you insist that teacher has been framed and even risked your life to find Zhen, Zhen will give your Zhao family one more chance and reopen the case for investigation.”
“Perhaps…Imperial brother misunderstood something.” Afraid that his att.i.tude seemed to have changed too quickly, Xiang Han hastily added.
Zhao Ze's eyes lit up and he quickly kowtowed, unable to conceal the agitation in his voice, “This criminal thanks His Majesty.”
“As for you, hmph!” Xiang Han suddenly stood up and circled about him, saying angrily, “Barging into the palace and threatening Zhen with weapons, for this crime, Zhen can sentence you to a public execution to make an example out of you.”
Zhao Ze knelt down, “This minister knows his mistake…”
Before he could finish, Xiang Han interrupted him, “But, in consideration of your filial piety and your courage to talk back, Zhen will temporarily drop this matter. If the investigation shows that teacher has truly been wrongly framed, you'll simply be charged with disrespecting the monarch. If he was not framed, hmph!”
“This criminal thank His Majesty for his mercy.” Zhao Ze had not expected that after coercing the Little Emperor like that he wouldn't actually be punished, and couldn't help feeling relieved.
He felt that his father's words were untrue. The Little Emperor was not a coward who couldn't achieve great things but instead, was naive, muddled, and easily influenced by his ministers.
After settling Zhao Ze, Xiang Han finally found an excuse to dismiss that group of ministers. He quickly ordered a eunuch to announce his decree, emphasising that it was Zhao Ze who risked his life to enter the palace in the dead of the night to plead mercy for his father who had been framed. Zhen had been touched by his filial piety and thus, ordered the investigation department to reopen the case. It was definitely not because he had been coerced by this group of ministers.
Zhao Ze left together with the eunuch. Because he was also guilty of a crime, he had to squat in prison for a little while.
The ministers were happy to the point of tears, but after seeing Zhao Ze, they seemed to understand something. In the middle of the night, Minister Zhao who should have been in prison suddenly appeared at the Emperor's chambers and at the same time, his majesty ordered for the investigation department to reexamine Teacher Zhao's case. This, this, this…
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Zhao Ze saw the little emperor's frightened and tearful expression, and felt disdainful, thinking that this person was too uncivilised.
After understanding his current situation, Xiang Han stressed earnestly, “Y-you cannot find trouble for imperial brother. I-it was Zhen who got people to find those evidence, and the edict was also ordered by Zhen. You rebels, whatever it is, just come at Zhen...”
Zhao Ze's gaze darkened as he silently thought, could it be that the evidence was truly related to Prince Liang?
One was the prince who had been dethroned six years ago because of his father while the other was the Little Emperor who had just joined the court, without a care in the world. Who should he choose to believe, Zhao Ze already had an answer in his heart.
Although Prince Liang had saved him, he did not believe the other person's excuse of “not being able to bear seeing a loyal subordinate's death”, and instead, felt that he had ulterior motives.
In the original plot, Zhao Ze did not manage to meet the Little Emperor and his nine generations of family were executed. Therefore, even though he knew Prince Liang had his own motives, he still chose to walk down this path. But now, since the Zhao family still had a chance of recovery, he naturally chose a different option.
He remembered his father had criticised the Little Emperor for being weak and unsuitable to take on great responsibilities. In the end, Zhao Ze finally chose to put his stakes on this person. At least… the Little Emperor would not dare trick him and was much more trustworthy than Prince Liang.
Watching the Little Emperor stare at him with big, watery eyes filled with fear, he was silent for a moment before he suddenly spoke, “Your Majesty, do you want to know who the one who rescued me was?”
“Who?” Xiang Han immediately asked in alert.
“It was Prince Liang.” Zhao Ze stared at him, slowly spitting out each word.
“Impossible.” Xiang Han shook his head, “Imperial brother was just telling me to quickly get rid of your entire family yesterday. Why would he secretly help you?”
“Your Majesty has probably been fooled by him,” Zhao Ze's gaze darkened as he said. Seeing the Little Emperor's reaction was genuine, he continued, “When Prince Liang saved me, he said he could not ‘bear to watch a loyal subordinate be framed to death' and convinced me to head northwest…”
“Impossible. Don't try to stir discord between Zhen and Imperial brother's brotherly feelings. Your Zhao family is plotting treason, the evidence is conclusive. Don't tell me you want Zhen to doubt imperial brother and believe the words of a traitor instead?” Xiang Han shook his head in “resolution”, not believing his words.
Zhao Ze felt that the little emperor was indeed foolish. Living in the palace, he still believed in brotherly love. Even if he were to be sold by Prince Liang, he would probably still help the other person count his money.
He gloomily continued, “Your Majesty, Prince Liang has always held a grudge against my father regarding his abdication. His words cannot be trusted and the so-called evidence cannot be used. As long as Your Majesty sends your people to investigate, you will definitely be able to find that many things do not match up.”
When he said this, he directly knelt down and offered his dagger. He lowered his head and continued, “My father is already past 50, his body is no longer as strong as before. Before that, he was already planning to retire from court, why would he think of rebelling? This criminal is willing to offer his life to prove my loyalty. On the other hand, Prince Liang actually dared to plant false evidence in court. He deliberately lied and misled Your Majesty. When he reveals his ambitions, I'm afraid Your Majesty will be in danger.”
Xiang Han glanced at him and pretended to accept the dagger cautiously. When he completely grasped the dagger, his expression immediately changed, becoming full of confidence.
He wielded the dagger and happily slashed towards his neck twice before walking around him, “But your Zhao family is indeed controlling too much power. Even the commander of Chang' An army is Teacher Zhao's people, who should Zhen believe?”
Zhao Ze completely did not put this little act in his eyes, only feeling that the Little Emperor was simply throwing a tantrum. Once he obtained some power, he was like a little rooster, walking about with his head held high.
“If it is as what Your Majesty said, Commander Xue should already have killed his way into the palace, to take down Your Majesty and rescue father.”
“Preposterous!” Xiang Han immediately increased the pressure of the dagger against his neck and scoffed, “Zhen can implicate you purely based on your words just now.”
Zhao Ze admitted honestly, “This minister has offended your Majesty, but this official's father has been wrongly accused. Although there were many opportunities to rebel,t in the end, this official still chose to surrender with hopes that Your Majesty will not be swayed by false rumours and execute a loyal courtier.”
Xiang Han squatted down in front of him, held his sleeves and observed him for a moment before he finally said, “Forget it. Since you insist that teacher has been framed and even risked your life to find Zhen, Zhen will give your Zhao family one more chance and reopen the case for investigation.”
“Perhaps…Imperial brother misunderstood something.” Afraid that his att.i.tude seemed to have changed too quickly, Xiang Han hastily added.
Zhao Ze's eyes lit up and he quickly kowtowed, unable to conceal the agitation in his voice, “This criminal thanks His Majesty.”
“As for you, hmph!” Xiang Han suddenly stood up and circled about him, saying angrily, “Barging into the palace and threatening Zhen with weapons, for this crime, Zhen can sentence you to a public execution to make an example out of you.”
Zhao Ze knelt down, “This minister knows his mistake…”
Before he could finish, Xiang Han interrupted him, “But, in consideration of your filial piety and your courage to talk back, Zhen will temporarily drop this matter. If the investigation shows that teacher has truly been wrongly framed, you'll simply be charged with disrespecting the monarch. If he was not framed, hmph!”
“This criminal thank His Majesty for his mercy.” Zhao Ze had not expected that after coercing the Little Emperor like that he wouldn't actually be punished, and couldn't help feeling relieved.
He felt that his father's words were untrue. The Little Emperor was not a coward who couldn't achieve great things but instead, was naive, muddled, and easily influenced by his ministers.
After settling Zhao Ze, Xiang Han finally found an excuse to dismiss that group of ministers. He quickly ordered a eunuch to announce his decree, emphasising that it was Zhao Ze who risked his life to enter the palace in the dead of the night to plead mercy for his father who had been framed. Zhen had been touched by his filial piety and thus, ordered the investigation department to reopen the case. It was definitely not because he had been coerced by this group of ministers.
Zhao Ze left together with the eunuch. Because he was also guilty of a crime, he had to squat in prison for a little while.
The ministers were happy to the point of tears, but after seeing Zhao Ze, they seemed to understand something. In the middle of the night, Minister Zhao who should have been in prison suddenly appeared at the Emperor's chambers and at the same time, his majesty ordered for the investigation department to reexamine Teacher Zhao's case. This, this, this…